Melissa Schapiro

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Another Home Sale Success Story

Another Home Sale Success Story

I was honored to help the seller of this Bellingham home in a 55+ community. We closed on it last week -- we were on the market 7 days, and accepted a full-price cash offer. I had counseled the seller (when the home was first purchased 8 years ago) that usually,...

Part 2: Broker-Client Relationship

Part 2: Broker-Client Relationship

Here is Part 2, explaining the broker client relationship, the change in the state law, and what brought it about. Part 2: Changes to state agency law about broker-client relationship The concept of a buyer’s broker is fairly new. Up until the 1990s, all brokers...

Part 1: How Buyers Brokers Work

Part 1: How Buyers Brokers Work

The real estate market continues to be very active, with more people looking for homes, than there are homes for sale. In addition to this continued seller's market atmosphere, the industry is undergoing changes designed to help consumers better understand the home...

Mortgage Rates Take a Dip

Mortgage Rates Take a Dip

Most folks interested in real estate know that the market has definitely shifted since last year, with mortgage rates rising and fewer buyers rushing to outbid one another. But we have some good news -- interest rates eased up a bit this week. This from a...

Thanks for a successful 2022 in real estate

Thanks for a successful 2022 in real estate

The year 2022 was a good one for Bellingham real estate! I enjoyed working with home buyers and sellers, across the real estate spectrum: from vacant land, starter homes and historic character homes to new construction and luxury homes. I love meeting new people,...

Taking the Long View in Real Estate

Taking the Long View in Real Estate

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Realtors, locally and elsewhere, have been noting a "shift" in the market the last couple of months. As listing brokers, we had gotten used to putting a house on the market, setting a review date, and having...

Drone Tour: 1773 Oyster Creek Lane, Bow

Panoramic ocean and mountain views greet you from the cleared home at 1773 Oyster Creek Lane, Bow. These 20 acres are nestled between Samish Bay and Oyster Dome, just one mile uphill from the Oyster Bar,...

Bluegrass Festival at Hovander Homestead Park

Bluegrass Festival at Hovander Homestead Park

One of my favorite Whatcom County parks is Hovander Homestead, in Ferndale. It’s a beautiful home finished in 1903, and includes an enormous barn, next to the Nooksack River. I’ve taken the tour of this home so many times and have a fantasy of someday building a place...

Putting in an Offer

So, you are ready to buy a home. You’ve been working with a Realtor, looking at properties, and are ready to put in an offer. How does it work? Well, it is nothing like on TV. We can’t just make a phone call, and tell you that they’ve accepted your offer. Real estate...

Get pre-approved!

How do you know what you can buy? Unless you have unlimited cash funds, you will need to get a loan to purchase a property, and the type of loan, and loan amount, will determine what properties you should be looking at. Looking at properties that you can’t afford is...

Water is the new gold

Water is the new gold

After listening to a speaker about rainwater catchment systems, I started thinking about the movie, The Big Short. There is a connection here, I promise. The film, an inside look at how the financial crisis created the Great Recession, had at its center a hedge-fund...

The Agency relationship – it goes both ways

The Agency relationship – it goes both ways

I love my job – helping people find their next home, sell their home to meet their personal goals, and learn about this community that I’ve called home since 1996. Being a Realtor is much more than taking a client to see a house and writing up a contract. It’s a...

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